Written by Tiffany Qi

A lot of people have been wondering exactly what tests can satisfy which requirements.. Thus, I will try to be as comprehensive as possible so that everyone would understand what your test can possibly get you out of. I’m the most knowledgeable about pre-Haas material, but there are plenty of resources available that can back up some of the other statements here. Feel free to leave a comment if you see something that can be corrected! I hope this post can give you just a barebones view of what you can get out of.

Keep in mind that just because you can get out of a class, does not mean you should. For instance, if you are in CoE and need to take the 1 math series and got a 5 on BC, yes you could skip out of them and go to 53-54. However if you are not confident in your math skills, then maybe skipping them is not the best idea.

(I know some of you have taken IB, this works pretty much like AP, which is what I shall lay out in the info below...)L&SAs a college, AP pretty much does nothing for you. You can't get out of any of your gen-ed requirements, because we have something that's called "7-course breadth" instead! However, you can get out of some campus requirements.To satisfy the Reading and Composition Requirements (http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/rc.html) RA and RB:·AP Lit - 4 satisfies first semester, 5 satisfies both·AP Lang - 4 & 5 satisfies first semester·IB English Language A1 or A2 - 5, 6, 7 satisfies both·A-level English - A, B, C satisfies bothFor the less popular questions about quantitative and/or history, you can check this L&S (http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/summary.html) for more info: Everything else should be checked by INDIVIDUAL MAJOR in the departmental websites. Examples:

Pre-Haas·5 on AP Macroeconomics AND AP Microeconomics replaces Econ 1·5 on AP Calculus BC replaces 1 semester of Math (so 1A or 16A)Psychology (http://psychology.berkeley.edu/students/undergraduate-program/about-major) ·4 or 5 on AP Psych replaces Psych 1·4 or 5 on AP Bio replaces 1 Biological Science course·4 or 5 on any of the AP Govs replaces 1 Social Science course·4 or 5 on AP Stats fulfills the quantitative requirementExamples of not being able to use AP to waive out of anything:·Integrative Biology (https://ib.berkeley.edu/undergrad/major/freshman.php): "The Department of Integrative Biology no longer allows students to waive out of the math requirement using AP credit. This was a recent decision, so may contradict what you have understood. This is in effect for any student who enters as a freshman in the fall of 2012. You cannot use biology, chemistry & physics AP scores to waive other lower-division IB requirements."·Pre-Med: I have heard that you SHOULD NOT use AP to get out of anything. Not even English, because that is a requirement for Medical school. Therefore, it is a general consensus to not skip anything, which includes math, biology, chemistry, etc.·Physics (http://physics.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/_/PDF/phys_major_blltn_boggscrnt.pdf): "Completing Advanced Placement courses or exams in physics is not considered sufficient preparation for upper division work in physics; therefore, it is the general policy of the Department not to waive the Physics 7A-7C prerequisite except under unusual circumstances."Other CollegesUnlike L&S, you can use AP to fulfill gen-ed courses.·College of ChemistryI find this COC Website (http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/students) to be pretty comprehensive, breaks down by major as well as breadth: ·College of EngineeringHere’s the COE Handbook (http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-guide). "For the Humanities/Social Science requirement, no more than two of the required six courses can be satisfied by AP, IB or A Level exams. There is no limit on the number of AP exams that can be used to satisfy technical requirements". This website also outlines what the AP/etc tests can be used for (p7-12). It seems like these are also pretty standard among majors/departments in CoE. Please note that you have to take at least 1 semester of English, no matter what! ·College of Natural ResourcesThe CNR Handbook (http://nature.berkeley.edu/site/forms/oisa/undergrad_handbook.pdf) on p18 also breaks down by major. p10 also shows you the R&C breakdown. If you want to know how many credits you have accumulated, you can look at this page (http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/exam-credit/ap-credits/index.html). Remember to divide by 1.5 though! The page is shown quarterly, not semesterly.Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to me (hello@tiffanyqi.com;or PEACE advisors!) if you have any questions.

Tiffany is a huge contributor to PEACE's collection of online blogs. However, she also has her own personal blog, which includes many of the posts that you see on this page, plus others! If you want to see more of her writing and get even more assistance, feel free to visit: https://advicefromahaasmajor.wordpress.com/

So if I'm pre-haas in L&S, other than passing out of Math 1a, Econ 1 and R and C requirement, my ap scores mean nothing? Do the credits I come in with from the other tests do anything if I still have to satisfy my 7-Breadth requirement?

Reply

PEACE Tutoring

4/13/2016 08:36:58 am

Hi Griff,
You're correct, your AP scores will allow you to pass out of the lower-division pre-requisites such as the ones you listed. If you got a 5 on the AP BC calc exam, you'll be able to skip Math 1A and go directly into Math 1B (or 16B/53/54).